Luxurious Pleasure in Amazing Thailand

No, I am not back to Thailand. But I attended the ‘Luxurious Pleasure in Amazing Thailand’ event held in New Delhi. The venue was the ever beautiful Dusit Deverana.

This was my third visit to the hotel and it still remains as charming for me. The event was held in the ball room. So, I walked through all the beautiful water bodies again to reach there.

The idea was quite simple, there were about 15 luxury brands under one roof and you could talk to all of them at one place. Anantara, Sofitel, Dusit Thai (where I have stayed in Bangkok) Amari (where I have stayed in Hua Hin), Sheraton, Soneva all were there and this is a partial list. Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways were also present. It was fun looking at the pictures of the various properties. The Sofitel at Krabi has an amazing looking pool and Soneva is on a resort island where it is the only hotel. As I have stayed with Dusit Thani and Amari Hua Hin I had fun talking to them about the hotels!

It was also a lot of fun to meet the TAT New Delhi team again. I was happy clicking the director Runjuan Tongrut. Whenever I have met her, she is brimming with energy. It was also fun to meet Aso who has been an amazing host for two of my recent Thailand trips. And when I say amazing, I mean simply amazing.

I got some beautiful mugs to carry home. The condition was that I need to talk to everyone in the hall. Since I had stayed with some of the hotels, they were easier to chat to. Then I got in conversation with a manager who said he was working in Thailand for the last 12 years! I asked him, “You are not from Thailand so how come you stayed so long?” I added that I hope he didn’t find my question rude. He said it was not rude at all. He was Finnish-Swiss and living in Thailand for 12 years! He said it all just happened and it was not by great design. But he found Thailand a great place to live in, the people were nice, the standard of living was good and he liked it there!

If you are looking for luxury holidays in Thailand check out some of the resorts I mentioned. For me, it was a wonderful afternoon of Thai hospitality again at Dusit Devarana!

When I visited Dusit Devarana, New Delhi in November 2013, I liked what I saw. The occasion was the Thai Loi Krathong festival which was a night event. I liked it so much that I wanted to go back and click pictures during the day. Then started the search for a mutually agreeable dates which brought us to 3rd March! And before I get down to showing the spaces I loved to click, the pick up for me was a black BMW! That is not my usual car. So ladies and gentlemen, lean back and relax while I take you on a visual tour of Dusit Devarana, New Delhi.

The walls around the valet parking area are quite different than anything I have seen before. They are plastered with small metallic leaves giving a blueish glow at night. The resort is quite close to NH 8 and the New Delhi airports. I was told that the leaves act as a buffer for the noise. The sound proofing inside the rooms and dining areas is quite good. You would hear the planes taking off if you were strolling through the open spaces.

This is the space where you arrive immediately after leaving your transport and walking in. The scanning machine is behind the small wall! Have you ever seen a more beautiful baggage screening area than this?

This is how the main lobby looks! While I was taking a seat, I was requested to be careful of the water. So, the reflection you see is in the water as well, apart from the floor. The entire resort has water bodies and reflections which make it a photographer’s delight.

When I initially saw the main swimming pool, I thought it resembled a small stream rather than a pool. It is an all weather pool and really reminds me of streams I have encountered in various places rather than a hotel swimming pool!

The resort is a spa based resort. The name of the spa is Devarana and it is a Thai brand. As the hotel is new it is making additions to its already existing facilities in the spa. They have plans to introduce a Turkish Hamam as well.

This is the main corridor across which rooms are located. I liked the calm that prevailed out there. Even at this point I could hear no noises from NH 8 or the airport.

Did you notice the bath tub in the corner of the room? I found one such tub in a room in Johannesburg! I was mortally afraid of spilling a lot of water in the room. But it was a novelty for me to have the tub in the room itself and this is only the second time I saw it again. This is the highest category of rooms in the hotel.

I had a nice time at Kiyan the all day dining restaurant. I tried the Khumb Palak ki Tikki as a starter along with my tea. It was done well and presented well. I had a chat with Chef Nishant who said his idea was to do a small number of dishes but to do them well.

After going around the property I had a the Devarana signature toffee pudding. I am not a big fan of ice cream but the dessert was as amazing as it looked. If I ever visit the place another time, I will happily have the same dessert again.

One of the most memorable things for at this visit was meeting my former student Alisha who is now the restaurant manager at the hotel. How time flies! Even though we could not talk much, but it is always a pleasure to see my students doing so well in life!